Vol 1 Chapter 21 (2/2)
That summer, I had the funnest days of my childhood Everyday when I opened my eyes, my heart felt like it was filled with sunshi+ne
Every ’s lessons with Zhang Jun Although we didn’t chat much, we sat very close and I was able to see his smile in the corner of my eye
Teacher Gao didn’t stand on the podium, she casually sat in front of us and wrote on scrap paper as she talked When ere tired, the three of us would chat Teacher Gao would share a few stories of when she was studying in Beijing asJun would share so all over the country He was really good at talking and he made his trips come to life He would talk about the fish feast he had in Wuhan,me and Teacher Gao salivate In Yantai, he had eaten raw seafood When he put the live shrimp, soaked with alcohol, in his mouth, the shrimp still jumped around in his rimaced as we listened
Teacher Zhang never acted appropriately like a student in front of the teacher When he talked excitedly, he would juh spirits whereas Teacher Gao and I would sit on the chairs and look towards hi to him
The bright su his entire body sparkle My heart was also brilliantly bright It wasthat happiness could be so very simple, I only needed to sit there and quietly stare at him
Other than answering questions, I stayed silent forwith happiness, I enjoyed listening to him speak
After the lesson was over, I would walk ho Jun
We lived on two sides between a river We call it a river but it wasn’t actually a river It’s said to be a ation canal that was already there in the Qing dynasty but ere used to calling it a river
For the sake of being able to walk further with hio along the river with hie and part ways there
I worked hard to find ways to be with hiether, I wasn’t able to say a word and I could only stay silent It was often just Zhang Jun who talked while I listened attentively He had lots of fun stories that would h
Sometimes, he would also not speak and ould be in silence I was scared that he would findand that he wouldn’t want to ith me in the future so as soon as he beca of topics but I wasn’t able to think of anything to say, I could only ask, “do you think there’s a better way of solving that question from today?” or,”I found another way to solve yesterday’s question” So the two of us who had a considerably bad reputation at school were like the good students ere passionate about studying, diligently discussing maths questions I was only able to realizeor discussing howa dull maths question?
However, there were exceptions When the water in the river was shalloould go down to the river to play The two of us would bend down and look around for pretty stones in the water
When ere tired, ould sit side by side on a large rock, with our feet in the water, kicking around while resting The water in the river was able to let people relax Even though it was quiet, I would stop intentionally looking for words We would often not speak a word and just bask in the sun, enjoying the breeze
Tiether I would often suddenly grasp his watch and realize that it was already lunchti home now, bye”
He would lazily stand up and put on his shoes, “see you tomorrow”
Thinking that ere able to ether in the water
Every , I couldn’t wait to rush to school, couldn’t wait to see him, study with him, play with him
Once, he lay on a rock and fell asleep I sat by his side, playfully kicking the water When I secretly looked at his watch, I found out that it was already lunchtime but he didn’t wake up I hesitated for ahi to shade hi him sleep
I held up the sunhat, sat by his side and watched the way he slept When one hand grew tired, I would switch to the other hand I felt ht as the su as he was here, I illing to watch over him
He slept for a long ti up on one shoulder I i towards the distance
He looked at me and smiled, “you missed out on lunchtime”
I lowered my head and put on my sandals as I replied, “it’s okay” It seeet home when actually, I was afraid to look at him
I hurriedly started to leave, he asked me, “if you’re late home, will your parents scold you?”
I truthfully answered,” they’ll probably say a feords to me but I don’t care They are someti harsh”
My words seeinable but he seemed to understand and didn’t have a surprised expression, only smiled a little
I was already walking ahen I suddenly re ho on the rock I couldn’t help but run back and stood on the bridge asking, “aren’t you going home?”
He raised his head, “there’s no one at hoo home or not”
I was stunned Didn’t he have four sisters and he was the son his parents finally gave birth to so he was the treasure of his entire family?
[Sons are usually more favored in China as they carry on the family line]
“Don’t you have four sisters? Where are your parents?”
He explained laughing, “o wherever his work is; du for most of the year to helpin Shenzhen;station’s dorot into university so she went to Shanghai to study, there’s only me left in the house
“Who cooks for you?”
“There is a lady who came from our hometoho cooks for me, but she doesn’t care about me”
I stood quietly on the bridge
He looked up at o ho, he stood up, ready to leave
I asked, “where are you going?”
He cli to look for friends to play with”
I didn’t want hiether but I wasn’t able to say it out, I could only walk home step by step
—
During the holidays, when I wasn’t studying, I would go to Brother Li’s garape vine fro Xiao Bo planted it by the wall and used iron wire and bamboo to create a frareen I liked sitting by it, reading
Brother Li was busy with his new business and left the entire store to Xiao Bo and Wu Zei to o and have a look; when there wasn’t anyone, he would play billiards while chatting to the rapevine
Sometimes, people would coe When there was large betting, Brother Li would clean the yard and lock the yard door He would send people to stay in the game house and not let other people enter Once when he was cleaning the yard, I was there and Xiao Bo didn’t make me leave Brother Li and Wu Zei weren’t bother about me and let me leave and enter freely
When the bidding was small, I would occasionally lay down a stake Xiao Bo was very creditable, he never once leton hi shops, using the e juice Having book renting shops ’s works My favorite was ‘The Happy Hero’ I read it again and again, only because there wasn’t any loneliness in it
When I was tired fro, if there wasn’t any people, Xiao Bo would teach me billiards He would correct my posture step by step My little brain wasn’t well developed and my PE results were always bad but I seemed to have a talent for this half intellectual sport and I was soon able to play correctly
Sometimes, when Brother Li and Wu Zei were also present, the four of us would play cards underneath the grape vine In the beginning, Brother Li and Wu Zei doubted ood Xiao Bo who didn’t care about winning or losing, ould be partners with me
The losers had to stick a white strip of paper on their face The two us often lost so h space on our faces for the strips of paper
When I becaeneral Using Brother Li’s words, I was able to keepWu Zei’s words, I was ruthless Xiao Bo was really good at playing and with my cooperation, ould often play until Wu Zei and Brother Li were speechless They wanted to separate Xiao Bo and I but I refused In the past, they looked down on me, today, I don’t want to be with you!
Brother Li and Wu Zei joked that I bore grudges and I fiercely replied, “people who don’t bear grudges won’t remember to repay favors” I didn’t care how they ridiculed me, I would only be partners with Xiao Bo
I changed frohing andnoiseWu Zei would often co a cat, unexpectedly, it was actually a little leopard Xiao Bo laughed, “who told you to enjoy provoking her?”
When ere playing cards, they would drink beer and give me the soft drink Jianlibao At that time, there wasn’t any Coca Cola, Pepsi, Fanta or Wahaha This bubbling orange flavored carbonated water is the best soft drink to me
Afterwards, every time I think back to this holiday period, I would always be te Vacation’ I know thatVacation’ but whenever I think of this period, ht sunshi+ne, the sparkling river water, the dark green of the grape vines, the sounds of joyous laughter, the sweet aroes, my few best friends and, a boy I like
Cuuute!
Firstly, I love Tonghua’s analogies! You can tell that she’s put a lot of thought into her writing and she really connects with her characters and all their iinning of every part (that I’ve used italics for) because they’re also really interesting So to translate because I’uous which calls for your own interpretations
Maybe I should start writing down my interpretations to them down here too! Hehe
I’lad Luo Qi Qi’s life is finally filled with sunshi+ne and that she’s realized she’s not so alone in this world! Itabout how alone she was- Qi Qi! You have your three bros froame house too!
Sure Wu Zei teases her a lot but he does it cheekily, like how a big brother ht tease his little sister, hehe
I don’t knohy though but I keep thinking of Xiao Bo as a cute and chubby little boy I can’t help it! His name sounds so cute! It means small (Xiao) waves (Bo) in Chinese It isn’t pronounced bow but the bo in boring BUT NO HE ISN’T SUPPOSED TO BE A CUTE LITTLE BOY He’s most likely one of the main contenders for Luo Qi Qi’s heart!!! Ito partner up with the a Reeeally?I re table tennis when they firstquite fiercely Also Wu Zei had told Luo Qi Qi how good Xiao Bo ith a knife We’re only seeing Luo Qi Qi’s version of Xiao Bo here, which is a nice, decent guy (to her and his friends) who is in a top school but from what I’ve seen (or heard), he’s a pretty badass ‘rebel’ too (kids shouldn’t be hanging out in ga Jun is a rich, carefree guy who is actually, as we learn in this part, pretty lonely, even though he has a big family